Harvey Mudd College Launches Homework Hotline Program

Are you struggling with algebra? Does the quadratic equation have your brain tied in knots? No fear my math loving friends because you may now have an on-demand math tutor standing by to help you figure things out!

Harvey Mudd College has employed approximately 40 tutors in the HMC branch of the Homework Hotline program to help students with their math struggles. The program began in 1991 at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. Originally a small-scale operation, the program has grown and is now able to take more than 400 calls a night.

According to The Student Life, HMC President Maria Klawe visited the Institute, said HMC’s Homework Hotline administrator Gabriela Gaimez-Gomez, and decided to implement the same program at Harvey Mudd. Philanthropists Marilyn and James Simons funded the endeavor through the Math for America New York Fellowship.

What do you think?

I really like the concept of having tutors available for students to call when they have a problem. Not only for math, but for any subject area. However, I have to believe that a more efficient method for tutoring could be discovered using the web.

However, if this particular tutor program is funded by a grant from within Harvey Mudd College then of course that’s a different situation.

So do you like the idea that Harvey Mudd College launched – employing people to act as tutors to help students?

Do you think the web could provide a more robust platform for tutoring? And if so, how?